You, dear consumer, have abruptly stopped purchasing automobiles. GM’s sales are down 45%. Ford has sunk by 30% and Toyota, yes, that Toyota is down 23%.

Check this out. It’s Auto-Armageddon! From BusinessWeek:

“It was like somebody turned the lights off in October,” said GM sales and marketing chief Mark LaNeve. According to GM, October, after adjusting according to sales per capita, was the worst month for sales in the post-World War II era. It was worse even than sales in September and October after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks against New York and Washington in 2001. “In my 27 years in the business, I’ve never seen a month like this,” said an exasperated LaNeve.

The declines aren’t limited to U.S. brands. “The carnage was completely widespread,” said GM’s LaNeve. Toyota (TM), despite huge ad spending and zero-percent financing, reported a sales drop of 23%. Nissan (NSANY) was off 33%. Hyundai was down 31%. Suzuki was down 44%. Luxury makes weren’t spared. Mercedes-Benz (DAI) was down 26% and BMW was off 10%.